Lead-footed drivers are frequenting Benalla more than anywhere in the state, Victoria Police data has revealed.

An analysis of police-issued speeding infringements, excluding speed camera fines, found that Benalla had the largest number of high-speed infringements in Victoria.

Further, Benalla was ranked fourth in the state for the number of speeding infringements issued by police in 2012-13, with more than 7500 of the 180000 issued in Victoria; of those, 29 were issued to drivers in Benalla for exceeding the speed limit by more than 45km/h.

Benalla Police Highway Patrol Leading Senior Constable Terry Smith said high speeds were predominantly seen on Hume Fwy.

‘‘It’s just the nature of the road, it’s wide-open, mostly straight — some people see it as an invitation to drive at high speeds and don’t think they’ll get caught,’’ he said.

‘‘The majority of our serious injury and fatal collisions would occur on the freeway so we do police it quite heavily.

‘‘You can have all the education but at the end of the day it’s the driver’s responsibility to obey the law for their own safety and the passenger’s safety and other road users as well.’’

Drivers caught travelling at more than 45km/h over the speed limit automatically lose their licence for one year and have their vehicle impounded for 30 days.

Of the more than 7500 speeding infringements issued in Benalla in 2012-13, 1562 of those were for speeds up to 9km/h over the speed limit and 2228 for speeds between 10 and 14km/h above the speed limit.

Ldg Sen Const Smith said enforcement of lower level speed limits had increased as a result of scientific research.

‘‘We’re definitely enforcing lower level speeds more than we traditionally have ... it can be the difference between walking away from a collision and being seriously injured,’’ Ldg Sen Const Smith said.

‘‘We do find that a lot of people that do just a little bit over the speed limit but don’t necessarily do high speeds, they often don’t think that they’re really doing anything wrong and that it’s just a little bit over.

‘‘We know that by sending them away with a warning, it’s not having the desired result of slowing them down.’’